BOOM!

The next second, Gano arrived as summoned.

Crimson lotus petals unfurled one by one, revealing Gano clad in armor. The moment he appeared, the entire Electric Layer's strange bands of light trembled, emitting alarming electromagnetic warnings.

Xi Yujin reached out to him. The worry in his heart vanished, replaced by the excitement of escape flooding his brain. This was his first time fleeing for his life; the interstellar age really was too interesting.

Gano swept him up, his steady, reassuring voice emerging from beneath the armor:

"Please hold on tight, Yujinno."

At such close range, Xi Yujin hadn’t even figured out Gano’s intention when a surge of electricity detonated beside his ear. For a moment, he thought he might split apart. After a second of dizzying, ear-ringing explosion, they had already leaped past the Electric Layer and arrived at the Rock Layer.

Gano adjusted his position to protect Xi Yujin as much as possible, then tore through space a second time. This time, Xi Yujin saw nothing but spinning rainbows.

When the uncomfortable pressure disappeared, they were already above the icy ocean. The night was deep and rich, cold winds howled, and distant stars shone like a bright moon.

"We’ll accelerate next," Gano said. At moments like this, he was exceptionally reliable.

Xi Yujin nodded. After a pause, he said, "The lotus was really beautiful."

"Lotus?" Gano figured out what Xi Yujin was referring to. "That wasn't a lotus. Those were a space worm's sharp teeth."

Xi Yujin: "Did you see the Electric Layer's scenery just now? It was so fantastical."

Gano: "I saw it." He rarely felt moved by external scenery, but recalling that glimpse, the feeling of viewing the landscape seemed different from before.

Xi Yujin: "I hope we can see more scenery together."

They gradually ascended while several glimmers emerged from underground. The Flash Clan moved menacingly to the surface. Big Purple shouted:

"Prepare the vessels! Intercept that Zerg! Bring the diamond hatchling back! Ahhhhh! He's so fragile! He's still so small!"

Big Purple was nearly frightened out of its soul. Trackers from several ground bases shot into the sky, carving dazzling arcs through the space.

"What a touching friendship. Though I don't know why they're running… Hey, big brother armor guy carrying away the diamond, you'd better win!" Despite Big Purple's anxiety, quite a few Flash Clan members leisurely watched the spectacle; they were the children among their kind. They gossiped about the relationships between the Blue Planet diplomat, the Zerg, and the Flash Empire, making Big Purple flash angrily.

Xi Yujin and Gano boarded Tidal Peace. Xi Yujin sat in the cockpit's main seat and pushed the autopilot lever so that the ship would follow its predetermined trajectory toward the port star system. There, a planet-class Navigator Colossus was preparing to take thousands of ships on a major jump. That was the optimal escape route Xi Yujin had calculated.

Behind Tidal Peace, a swarm of the Flash Empire's massive ships followed. Quite a few mineral giants were chasing after them!

Xi Yujin glanced back and pushed the speed to maximum. With this, he officially declared: after stirring up chaos across all Three Courts, they were running away with first-place prizes from all three writing competitions!

—

"This must be a misdirection."

Inside the Materialist Reading Society, the members analyzed rationally. They weren't panicking; on the contrary, knowing smiles curled on their lips.

"Yes, that must be it. This is Mr. Yongye's typical misdirection. He first shows us this title to make us panic, then reveals the truth at the end: everything was actually Mr. Zhong's scheme to draw out the culprit. Both readers and people at the scene were all deceived by him."

Members breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"If we cried embarrassingly like that, Mr. Yongye would definitely be laughing somewhere. Haha, Mr. Yongye, you can't fool us this time. We're all loyal readers of The Case Files of Mr. Zhong."

The pink starfish hesitated. "Then, shall we upload the chapters now? Mr. Yujin said earlier that it can be completed all at once. That gives the best reading experience."

"Of course. The readers will get a shock too."

"I can't wait to read Mr. Yongye's new work. Even if it's the finale, that's fine. We can commission a sequel."

"The Case Files of Mr. Zhong 2 sounds a bit old-fashioned. Let's think of a cooler name for Mr. Yongye to choose from."

"Actually, I have a good idea. Could we eventually get Mr. Yongye to write a spinoff about young Little Zhong? I've already thought of the name: Detective Little Zhong! Isn't it catchy?"

Laughter filled the room, as if there wasn't a single cloud on the horizon.

Only they themselves knew how nervous they truly were.

The pink starfish trembled like an earthquake as it uploaded the manuscripts one by one.

—

The Materialist Archive's traffic exploded. Many readers had just woken up and habitually checked to see if Yongye had updated.

Discovering that he'd suddenly mass-updated many chapters, they smiled with satisfaction and happiness, sharing links and calling friends to read together. Several detective fans even formed private chat groups, reading online simultaneously and sharing their thoughts in real time. The atmosphere was harmonious.

"This, the Most Unlikely Murderer, is actually a family story. I thought it was announcing a murder, but it was actually a threatening letter. I didn't expect that the person who reported it was actually the culprit of another case. The letter was sent to obtain evidence, and if they couldn't get the evidence, the victim might have been forced to become the new case's murderer… Thankfully, Mr. Zhong solved both cases. Just seeing him appear makes me feel so safe…"

"Wow! A new case is out, too! Mr. Shi's Puzzle Murder Case! Let's go! Mr. Zhong will definitely win!"

"Mr. Shi actually appears as the second detective. He says he doesn’t even know the truth himself, since he advised everyone involved and let things evolve freely."

"I really want to punch Mr. Shi. He didn't do anything directly, but to create 'an unsolvable puzzle,' he awakened the demons in so many people's hearts!"

"The sheriff appeared! He did it: bam bam, punched Mr. Shi twice! As expected of him!"

"Mr. Zhong stopped the sheriff. Mr. Zhong and the sheriff will walk toward a bright future. This Mr. Shi can just wait to be defeated!"

This private chat group was obviously full of the detective-and-sheriff faction, and they were especially annoyed with Mr. Shi.

Complaints nearly overflow the screen as they read Mr. Zhong and Mr. Shi solve the case together, just like when they were young. But the sheriff's sour stand-up comedy commentary was oddly funny, which kept the mood light.

Unexpectedly, this case's culprit wasn't at the scene.

Mr. Shi's Puzzle Murder Case recounts the reunion of a group of old classmates. Years ago, a friend had accidentally fallen off a cliff and died. That friend had been a good person who often invited them home. It was only after their parents started divorce proceedings that the friend suggested going out to play.

The friend's fall might not have been an accident, and it could be intricately connected to their reckless play at the time. The surviving children felt guilty and promised each other to keep it absolutely secret. However, as adults, they used this secret to threaten one another. Because of their experiences over the years, they harbored resentment toward each other and decided to actually carry out a murder plan at the reunion.

Mr. Shi had given everyone different puzzles, and the answer to each was the most suitable murder method.

Because this group hadn't actually done anything yet, Mr. Zhong, who knew Mr. Shi's scheme, could only bide his time. He pretended to be a passing tourist, watching these old classmates' reunion, trying to prevent murder while occasionally dealing with Mr. Shi's provocations. Every day gave him splitting headaches.

But this group of old classmates did nothing, and Mr. Zhong discovered something else entirely.

The 12-day reunion trip ended. The old classmates came to the place where their friend had fallen off the cliff, and decided to truly repent and admit their wrongs. At the crucial moment, their conscience defeated their demons.

Mr. Zhong appeared at the end. He said he'd found evidence: their friend's fall was indeed homicide, but not by anyone present. It was the friend's father.

He had deliberately taken the child's psychiatric medication, hoping to have one less burden during the divorce. The friend became mentally confused, experienced auditory hallucinations, and fell off the cliff in a moment of carelessness.

This group, who'd known each other since youth, in the moment they honestly faced their inner demons, also pushed themselves away from the abyss of evil.

Readers outside the book felt some anger for the child who fell, yet also felt moved. It was precisely Mr. Zhong's insistence on humanity's bright side that gave him the motivation to dig up a truth that even Mr. Shi didn't know. This time, even with Mr. Shi exerting enormous mental pressure, he firmly held to his principles.

Mr. Zhong's headaches seemed to be getting better.

But Mr. Shi's expression turned dark.

 

[

"This isn't the ending I wanted," Mr. Shi said. "You should be getting closer to me. Why are you moving further away instead? Aren't you happy when solving puzzles? We should have been the perfect rivals."

"You're not my rival," Mr. Zhong said. "I'm much better than you. It was like this when we were young, and it's still like this now."

Seeing Mr. Shi's shocked expression, the sheriff laughed heartily nearby: "Of course! That guy is the most versatile detective!"

And so, Mr. Shi extended his final invitation to Mr. Zhong.

] 

 

"The final invitation!" The Reading Society creatures were excited as they read. "That line where Mr. Zhong says he's way better than Mr. Shi was so cool! Let me see the next chapter… Ah, why is it The Death of Mr. Zhong!"

"No, no, no, impossible, impossible…" The various seafood creatures shook their heads repeatedly.

Readers on the Materialist Archive momentarily fell silent as they typed strings of question marks. More and more readers begged for spoilers on the forums, not wanting to continue. Some readers also said breezily that this must be Yongye's scheme.

How could Mr. Zhong possibly die?

He unearthed truth from darkness and upheld the light as his bottom line. Childhood trauma didn't make him retreat, and numerous cases only made him stronger through adversity. How could someone like that just casually die?

From the author's perspective, The Case Files of Mr. Zhong was extremely popular. Many readers loved this character, so unless the author's brain was made of stone, they wouldn't write a death ending. Had Yongye gone crazy and decided to abandon his pen?

In any case, this title must be fake.

Look at the previous chapter, Mr. Shi's Puzzle Murder Case: except for the child who fell at the beginning, no actual murder happened, right?

Readers kept a taut string in their hearts, reading on with the mindset of scouting ahead for fellow fans. If they didn't read now and got spoiled by others, that would be a greater trouble.

The Death of Mr. Zhong opened with the sheriff receiving a suicide letter.

 

[

"My dear but not-too-bright friend,

By the time you receive this, I should have perished in a sea of flames. Please don't grieve for me, because I have more important things to entrust to you. Only you in this world can do this. If even you won't agree, then my death will be worthless.

In this world, my childhood companion, Little Shi, may have perished. But many Mr. Shi's are still alive. His fame has grown outstanding, which has attracted some darker things.

I don't want Mr. Shi's puzzles to create more Mr. Shis. So I'm entrusting this difficult task to you. I take back what I said about you not being too bright, but this letter was written in such a hurry, so please pretend you didn't see it.

Mr. Zhong"

"What kind of prank is this!" the sheriff shouted. But when he flipped to the back of the letter and saw the first puzzle, he sadly realized that it was indeed Mr. Zhong's technique.

But he quickly thought optimistically: if he could solve it, perhaps Mr. Zhong was already waiting at the end with a hug.

]

 

And so, The Case Files of the Sheriff began serialization!

The sheriff had always been the comic relief character in the story, occasionally appearing to guess the wrong culprit, dubbed the reverse detective by many readers. Before Mr. Shi officially appeared, some readers had conspiracy theories that the sheriff and Mr. Shi were the same person. But this book didn't have that many twists and turns, and the sheriff was a 100% good guy.

Seeing the new title, readers smiled in relief.

The relieved readers quickly called those who'd been afraid to continue to come read together. The sheriff was going to solve puzzles himself!

The sheriff's head was full of wild ideas, always steering Mr. Zhong's puzzles toward unrelated directions, making readers outside the book incredibly anxious. The worst thing in detective novels is a stupid detective. If the sheriff hadn't been a long-running comic character, they probably would have cursed.

But the sheriff soon demonstrated his investigative ability. He had stayed by Mr. Zhong's side for so long, after all. By constantly imitating Mr. Zhong's methods, he quickly deduced answers one by one and proceeded to the next location.

This journey felt like a trip down memory lane. Readers following the sheriff recalled previous cases, suddenly realizing how long Mr. Zhong had been with him.

"Sob sob, is this really the final case? It's so sentimental…"

"Mr. Yongye probably needed a break before writing the finale. Let's wait patiently. There'll definitely be a next volume."

Following the clues Mr. Zhong left, the sheriff learned that a bomb was hidden in the city. He had to dismantle it quickly, but Mr. Zhong couldn't predict the future and could only give vague suggestions. The actual deduction was up to the sheriff.

The main clue was a local myth about all the city's treasures being hidden in a well. Using his own wisdom, the sheriff found the treasure location: the city's largest underground museum. In the crucial countdown, he saw through the lies of the accomplice who had provided the clues and successfully dismantled the bomb.

The city-wide crisis was resolved. However, Mr. Zhong didn't appear as expected.

Was there a second case?

Where was Mr. Zhong?

With anxious unease, the sheriff searched for a while, then finally calmed down. This time, he had to find Mr. Zhong without any hints at all. This was a puzzle meant for him alone.

Time ticked away. The struggle in many readers' hearts grew larger, as if the ticking clock was counting down to fate's endpoint.

[

Snow.

Beyond the snowy plain lay a deep mountain forest. Thick smoke billowed at the outermost edge, and a small cabin blazed with roaring flames. The bright firelight illuminated the sheriff's face as the shadow behind him trembled with the dancing flames.

He found Mr. Zhong's letter in the snowy forest. It was nailed to a tree, as if it had always known someone would come to take it down.

"My most sincere, brave, and wise friend. I regret that I can only meet you through letters, but I believe you could find this place…

I never expressed my gratitude to you. Many people talk about fighting evil, but few can follow through. I've always admired you.

I tried to destroy all of Mr. Shi's records. He himself isn't frightening; instead, it's the thoughts he left behind that bewitch people's hearts. But I made a fatal mistake. The strength of one person is simply too weak. I should have asked for your help, but unfortunately it's a bit late…

Next, if you're willing to listen, please hear my final case…"

 ]

 

Mr. Shi's final case was to make Mr. Zhong the murderer.

Mr. Zhong chased Mr. Shi to this small cabin that had been soaked in oil. Along the way, Mr. Shi displayed his crimes and revealed his scheme.

He said he would pin all his criminal evidence on Mr. Zhong. Showing the evidence was to make the forging traces more convenient, because in others' accounts, Mr. Shi had never actually appeared. When others see the evidence, they would only think Mr. Zhong had been driven mad by The Nursery Rhyme Murder Case, that his split personality made him create puzzles while simultaneously playing the detective to solve them. Finally, Mr. Zhong would have a psychotic episode and burn an innocent bystander to death.

Mr. Shi threw a torch, and flames instantly consumed the entire cabin.

Rumors were the most unsolvable puzzle.

Mr. Zhong said there would be no such opportunity. Now, he would deal with Mr. Shi personally, even if it meant dying together, to ensure that Mr. Shi would never escape hell again.

Mr. Shi said he'd anticipated Mr. Zhong's choice, so he set up a real major case that was already playing out in another city. He urged Mr. Zhong to escape, save that city, and then try to dispel the rumors.

But Mr. Zhong shook his head, saying Mr. Shi still wasn't clever enough. He had already entrusted the real major case to another detective long ago.

There would be no perfect crime in this world, and potential criminals would all be deterred by the wisdom of justice. In the future, no one will inherit Mr. Shi's ideology.

The fire consumed their figures.

Only the letter in the forest remained, recording Mr. Zhong's thoughts before arriving at the cabin. The conversation inside the cabin would never be known, but judging from the burned, collapsed cabin and the bodies:

Mr. Zhong had used his death to burn the demon of crime to ashes on the snowy plain.

With that, The Death of Mr. Zhong came to an end.

The Case Files of Mr. Zhong was finished.

—

The Materialist Archive's website started lagging.

Countless readers blankly closed their optical computers. Minutes later, they returned in agony, nearly crashing the servers as they stormed the Materialist Archive website.

Countless screams flooded the screen.

"WHY!! Come out here, Yongye you old thief!! Why did you kill Mr. Zhong?! I wanted justice to triumph over evil and then have a party! Not justice falling before dawn with only a memorial service for close friends!"

"What? It's over? And this kind of ending? I'm crying so loudly… Why, Yongye, what were you thinking? Why is it like this… I thought there'd be a reversal until the very last sentence. There wasn't. I thought Mr. Zhong would jump out and give the sheriff a hug. He didn't. What were you thinking, Yongye!! I've gone completely insane! When I go crazy, even I'm scared of myself! I’M A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND! MR. ZHONG YOU’RE WRONG! I INHERITED MR. SHI’S WILL!"

"My heart hurts so much… It's bleeding… Worse than reading a hundred melodramas… Suffocating, can't breathe…"

"The aftershock is so strong. The moment I looked away from the screen, all I could see in my mind was that snowy plain. A blank snowy plain. Nothing there. Haha! Nothing at all! Hahaha! The magma is empty, Yongye walks among mortals!"

"Why did it have to be the sheriff who witnessed this ending? Yongye, Sir, how did you write this ending?"

"I suspect Yongye is actually an interstellar wanted criminal, charged with emotional manipulation of readers."

"AHHHHH Mr. Zhong was about to escape his trauma! His headaches were getting better!! HOW COULD IT END HERE?!"

"YONGYE!!!"

Readers' sorrow transformed into rage.

"WHERE IS YONGYE!!!"

At the Materialist Reading Society, one member tore off its badge and shouted: "I don't believe in materialism anymore! I want to resurrect Mr. Zhong!"

Then they boarded a ship and flew toward the direction Tidal Peace had departed, leaving behind one cry:

"AHHHHH! YONGYE! CHANGE THE ENDING FOR ME!!!"

In this universe, readers could freely show up at a novelist's door for an offline confrontation.

Behind them, countless reader ships surged into space, forming a vast, roaring fleet.